JP3589443B2 - Printer device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a digital copier, a printer, and a printer device such as a multi-function printer having both of these functions and a facsimile function, and more particularly, to a paper feed tray of a paper size designated in response to a command from a host device. And a function of printing an image on a sheet of an appropriate size according to a designated magnification.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, a printer device that processes and prints image data in response to a command from a host device, even if the magnification is set to a value different from the same size (100%), the size of the paper from the host device is reduced. When data containing a command to be specified was sent, paper was fed from a paper feed tray of the paper size specified by the command.
However, in reality, there is a case where the printer does not have a paper feed tray of the paper size specified by the command. Therefore, for example, in the invention described in (1) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-156788, the printer automatically calculates the magnification when there is no paper feed tray containing paper of the designated paper size and prints. I do it. (2) In the invention described in JP-A-7-144780, when a paper size is designated by a command from the host device, the printer detects a paper feed tray containing paper of the designated size and detects the tray. When the selection is made, but there is no designated paper feed tray, the printing is rejected to the host apparatus, and the paper size at the time of rejection is stored and displayed. (3) In the invention described in JP-A-7-244566, the host device obtains information on the printable paper size from the printer device, and prepares the printer device with the size of the image data to be output by the host device. When the paper size is small, the host device performs reduction / magnification processing corresponding to the paper size and outputs the result to the printer device.
However, (1) as in the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-156788, when there is no paper feed tray containing paper of a designated paper size, the printer automatically calculates the magnification and performs printing. If this is done, a problem arises in that an image scaled at the scale desired by the user is not printed. (2) When printing is rejected to the host device when there is no paper tray specified by a command from the host device as in the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Because the device stops sending data to the printer, the user who attempted to print resupplied paper of the specified size to the paper feed tray, loaded it into the printer, and resent data from the host again. There is a need to. In such a case, the next user waits for printing until the previous user mounts the paper feed tray containing the specified paper and finishes resending the data from the host device. (3) In the invention described in JP-A-7-244566, every time printing is attempted, the host device obtains information on the printable paper size from the printer device, and outputs the paper size prepared in the printer device. If the size of the image data is smaller than the size of the image data to be transmitted, the data is transmitted after the host device performs reduction / magnification in accordance with the paper size. There are problems such as a decrease in throughput due to an increase in time and an increase in load on the host device.
Also, even if the printer has a paper feed tray of the paper size specified by the above command, if the magnification is set in the printer, as a result, the paper is fed from the paper tray that does not match the image size after the magnification. There is the problem that paper can be done.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been conceived in order to improve the above-mentioned disadvantages of the conventional technique. In the invention of claim 1, the currently set variable size is not restricted by the paper size specified by a command from the host device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer device capable of giving priority to magnification and printing on a sheet of an appropriate size. Another object of the present invention is to provide a printer device in which a user does not need to transfer data again after setting a paper feed tray of an appropriate paper size. Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, even before a paper feed tray of an appropriate paper size is set, print processing can be efficiently performed without waiting for another user who has sent printable data later. An object of the present invention is to provide a printer device that can perform the above-described operations.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of paper feed trays each capable of setting paper of different size, and a paper feed tray containing paper of a size designated by a command from a host device. In an image forming apparatus having a tray selecting unit for selecting a tray and a scaling ratio designating unit for designating a scaling ratio of image data to be drawn , the paper size currently set at the same magnification specified by the command is set. The paper size calculating means for calculating the paper size after the magnification by multiplying the magnification is provided, and the tray selecting means selects a paper feed tray containing the paper of the paper size calculated by the paper size calculating means. It is characterized by doing. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printer of the first aspect, printing is performed on the host device even when a paper tray containing paper of the paper size determined by the paper size calculation means is not set. Without rejecting, the data sent from the host device is processed and stored in the memory as drawing data, and when a paper tray of the paper size calculated by the paper size calculation unit is newly mounted, the new paper tray is used. Paper is fed from a mounted paper feed tray, and at this time, the drawing data stored in the memory is printed. In this case, it is desirable to store the drawing data in a memory and display the drawing data on a display unit so as to notify the user of the paper size obtained by the paper size calculation means. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printer of the second aspect, after the drawing data is stored in the memory, data that can be printed in the paper size of the currently mounted paper feed tray is transmitted from the host device. In this case, the printable data is printed before the data stored in the memory.
[0006]
As described above, the printer device according to claim 1 multiplies the currently set scaling factor by the paper size at the same magnification specified by the command sent from the host device to obtain the image size after scaling. Since a suitable paper size is determined and a paper tray with the appropriate paper size is selected and printing is performed, the currently set magnification is prioritized without being restricted by the paper size specified by a command from the host device. And print on paper of an appropriate size. Further, the printer device according to the second aspect does not reject printing to the host device even if a paper tray containing paper of a paper size suitable for the image size after scaling is not set. The data sent from the device is processed and stored in the memory as drawing data, and when a paper feed tray of a paper size suitable for the image size after scaling is newly mounted, the newly mounted paper feed Since the paper is fed from the tray and the drawing data stored in the memory is printed, the user has to set a paper feed tray of a paper size suitable for the image size after scaling, and then save the user the need to transfer the data again. Can be omitted. Further, in the printer device according to the present invention, when data that can be printed in the paper size of the currently mounted paper feed tray is sent from the host device, the printable data is converted from the data stored in the memory. Since printing is performed first, the printing process can be efficiently performed without having to wait for another user who has sent printable data later.
[0007]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an embodiment of the present invention, and illustrates a system configuration including a printer device (laser printer) 1 and a host device 3.
The printer device 1 generally includes a controller 2, an operation panel device 4, and a printer engine 13.
The controller 2 is a control mechanism that converts print data (image data) from the host device 3 into video data and outputs the video data to the printer engine 13 in accordance with the control mode set at that time and the control code from the host device 3. And the following modules.
The host I / F 5 is an interface between the printer device 1 and the host device 3, and passes control signals and data from the host device 3 to the printer device 1, and also passes status signals from the printer device 1 to the host device 3.
The program ROM 6 stores a program for processing and managing data in the controller 2, a program for controlling peripheral modules, and the like.
The font ROM 7 stores various types of font data used for printing.
The panel I / F 8 is an interface between the controller 2 and the operation panel device 4.
[0008]
The CPU 9 analyzes data (print data, control data) from the host device 3 according to the program written in the program ROM 6 and creates drawing data, performs scaling processing, performs scaling, according to the analysis result. A process for calculating an appropriate paper size is performed later, and overall control of the controller 2 is performed to control a print output operation by the printer engine 13.
The RAM 10 includes a work memory for the CPU 9 to perform various processes, a buffer for managing and temporarily storing data from the host device 3 in page units, and converting data stored in the buffer into an actual print pattern, Is used as a bitmap memory for storing the
The NV-RAM 11 is a non-volatile RAM for storing data to be retained even when the power is turned off.
The engine I / F 12 is an interface between the controller 2 and the printer engine 13. The engine I / F 12 transfers a control signal and a video signal from the controller 2 to the printer engine 13, and transfers a status signal from the printer engine 13 to the controller 2.
The printer engine 13 forms an electrostatic latent image on a photoconductor by a video signal and a control signal from the controller 2, develops the electrostatic latent image with toner, and feeds a transfer sheet from a sheet feeding unit, and After transferring the toner image from the body to the transfer sheet, the toner image is fixed on the transfer sheet, so that an image corresponding to the video signal and the control signal is printed on the sheet. The paper feed unit of the printer engine 13 is equipped with a paper feed cassette in which sheets of various sizes such as A4, B4, A3, and A2 are set. The operation panel device 4 includes a display unit for displaying the status of the printer device 1 and a switch unit for setting the mode of the printer device 1, specifying the number of print copies, and switching fonts and the like.
[0009]
Next, an outline of a print processing operation in the printer device 1 will be described.
The data sent from the host device 3 through the host I / F 5 is analyzed by the CPU 9 in accordance with a data analysis program on the program ROM 6 so that print data and print control data (SP, CR, LF, HT, VT,.・ ・ Etc.) and others. The print data and print control data are temporarily stored in a reception buffer on the RAM 10. Once the received data is stored, the control program on the program ROM 6 retrieves the data one by one and performs the processing. For example, if the extracted data is a character code, an intermediate code including a print position, a print size, a character code, font information, and the like is created and stored in an intermediate buffer provided on the RAM 10. If the command is a control code or a command such as an escape sequence, a process defined in advance for the command is performed. For example, if the number of print copies is specified, it is set to output the specified number of print copies (internal control information setting). If the print position is specified, the position of the next character code is set. Is set to the specified position, or if the font is changed, the font information of the next character code is changed to the specified font.
In this way, when the print command from the host device 3 is processed, or when the processed data exceeds one page, the intermediate code stored in the intermediate buffer is then converted to the video data according to the control program. Performs processing to convert to data. When the conversion is completed, the controller 2 issues a print start command to the printer engine 13 through the engine I / F 12, and transfers video data in synchronization with the print start command.
Through a series of operations as described above, print data from the host device 3 is printed out from the printer engine 13 via the controller 2.
[0010]
Next, an embodiment corresponding to each claim will be described.
FIG. 2 is an operation flowchart of the printer apparatus showing an example of the embodiment corresponding to claim 1. First, it is checked whether a command for specifying a paper size (hereinafter, referred to as a paper size specification command) has been received from the host device 3 (S1). The paper size designation command is a command for designating a paper size such as A4, B4, A3, or A2, or for specifying the length and width of the paper.
As a result, when a paper size designation command is received (Yes in S1), information on the currently set magnification is read (S2). The CPU 9 stores the information on the magnification in the RAM 10 or the NV-RAM 11 when the magnification is set. Then, the information of the paper size specified by the paper size specification command is read, and the size of the image data when multiplying the paper size by the set magnification is obtained (S3). In order to determine the size when the magnification is multiplied, the length and width of various paper sizes such as A4, B4, A3, and A2 are stored in the program ROM 6, and the height and width of this paper size are stored. By multiplying the length by the scaling factor, the size of the image data after scaling can be obtained.
Then, a paper size suitable for the calculated image size after scaling is obtained (S4), a paper tray on which paper of the obtained paper size is set is selected (S5), and paper is fed from the paper tray. And print.
As described above, the currently set magnification is multiplied by the paper size specified by the paper size designation command sent from the host device 3 to obtain a paper size suitable for the image size after the magnification (S3, S4) By selecting a paper feed tray having a suitable paper size (S5) and performing printing, the currently set magnification is not restricted by the paper size specified by the command from the host device 3. Printing can be performed on a sheet of priority and appropriate size.
[0011]
FIGS. 3 and 4 are operation flow charts of the printer apparatus showing an example of the second embodiment.
FIG. 3 shows that when there is no paper feed tray of a paper size suitable for the image size after scaling, the host device 3 receives data from the host device 3 without rejecting printing, processes the data, and processes the drawing data. A series of operation contents for displaying that there is no tray of a paper size suitable for the display unit of the operation panel device 8 when the data transfer from the host device 3 is completed is illustrated. I have.
First, it is checked whether there is a paper feed tray of the paper size selected in S5 of FIG. 2 (S6).
As a result, if there is a paper feed tray of the paper size to be selected (Yes in S6), normal reception data analysis processing (S7) and conversion processing to drawing data (S8) are performed. At this time, the size of the created drawing data is calculated in order to secure an area for storing the created drawing data. Further, in order to reduce the memory area for storage, the drawing data may be compressed.
Then, a memory area for storing the drawing data created according to the data size is secured (S9). The memory area is secured in a free area that is not used by the programs or download fonts of the RAM 10 or the NV-RAM 11.
Then, the drawing data is stored in the memory area secured in step S9 (S10). At this time, when the stored drawing data is printed later, information for managing which drawing data is to be distinguished is also created and stored.
Then, it is determined whether the reception of the data specifying the paper size has been completed (S11). This determination must be made accurately by determining the emulation switching command as a data break, determining the paper size designation command as the end of a series of received data, or determining the job end command as the end of the received data. Can be.
Then, after the reception is completed (Yes in S11), the appropriate paper size obtained in step S4 of FIG. 2 is displayed on the display unit of the operation panel device 8 (S12).
[0012]
FIG. 4 shows an example of an operation flow for printing drawing data stored in a memory when a paper feed tray of an appropriate paper size is mounted. In this flow, first, the currently installed paper feed tray is detected by replacing the paper feed tray in the paper feed unit and checking the mounting state (S13). Then, it is checked whether or not the detected paper feed tray is the paper feed tray of the paper size obtained in step S4, that is, whether or not the paper feed tray of the appropriate paper size is mounted on the paper feed unit (S14). If there is a paper feed tray of an appropriate paper size (Yes in S14), the paper feed tray is selected (S15), and the paper fed from the paper feed tray is stored in the memory in step S10. The drawing data is printed (S16).
In this way, when the paper tray containing paper of a paper size suitable for the image size after scaling is not set, the data sent from the host device 3 is processed and stored in the memory as drawing data. In advance (S10), when a paper feed tray of a paper size suitable for the image size after scaling is newly installed (Yes in S14), the newly installed paper feed tray is selected and fed. (S15), the drawing data stored in the memory is printed (S16), and after setting a paper feed tray of a paper size suitable for the image size after scaling, the user transfers the data again. It saves the trouble of doing.
[0013]
FIG. 5 is an operation flow chart of the printer apparatus showing an example of the embodiment corresponding to claim 3. This flow follows a series of operations in FIG. That is, since the paper feed tray of the paper size to be selected is not mounted (S6), the data sent from the host device 3 is processed and stored in the memory as drawing data (S7 to S10), and the data is received. Is completed (S11), the paper size to be selected is displayed on the display unit of the operation panel device 8 (S12), and when new reception data from the host device 3 is detected (Yes in S17), reception is performed thereafter. The processing of FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 is performed on the obtained data (S18).
As described above, even if the drawing data that cannot be printed and output at present is stored in the memory because the paper feed tray of the paper size to be selected is not mounted, when new data is received from the host device 3, By processing the data first, the print processing can be performed efficiently without having to wait for another user who has sent printable data later. If there is no paper tray for the paper size to be selected for the data received later, the data received earlier is processed with priority or the data received later is stored in the memory as drawing data. The data is stored, and the processing is performed first from the data in which the paper feed tray of the appropriate paper size corresponding to the drawing data size is mounted.
[0014]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the following excellent effects can be exhibited. According to the first aspect of the present invention, the currently set magnification is multiplied by the paper size at the same magnification specified by the command sent from the host device, and a paper size suitable for the image size after the magnification is obtained. Since the printing is performed by selecting a paper feed tray of the appropriate paper size, the paper size specified by the command from the host device is not restricted, and the currently set magnification is given priority and appropriate. Therefore, operability is good because it is not necessary to perform an operation of changing the paper size in consideration of the image size after zooming. Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first aspect, even if a paper tray containing paper of a paper size suitable for the scaled image size is not set, printing is rejected by the host device. Without processing, the data sent from the host device is processed and stored in the memory as drawing data, and when a paper feed tray of a paper size suitable for the image size after scaling is newly attached, the new Paper is fed from the attached paper feed tray and the drawing data stored in the memory is printed, so after setting the paper feed tray of a paper size suitable for the image size after scaling, This eliminates the need for the user to transfer data again. According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the second aspect, when data that can be printed in the paper size of the currently mounted paper feed tray is sent from the host device, the printable data is stored in the memory. Since the printing is performed before the data stored in the printer, the printing process can be performed efficiently without waiting for another user who has sent the printable data later.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an operation flowchart of the printer apparatus showing an example of the embodiment corresponding to claim 1;
FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of the printer apparatus showing an example of the embodiment corresponding to claim 2;
FIG. 4 is another operation flow chart of the printer apparatus showing an example of the embodiment corresponding to claim 2;
FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart of the printer apparatus showing an example of the embodiment corresponding to claim 3;
[Explanation of symbols]
1 printer device, 2 controller, 3 host device, 4 operation panel device (magnification designating means), 5 host interface, 6 program ROM, 7 font ROM, 8 panel interface, 9 CPU (tray selection means, magnification designating means, Paper size calculation means), 10 RAM (memory), 11 NV-RAM (memory), 12 engine interface, 13 printer engine.

Claims (3)

A plurality of paper trays capable of setting paper of different sizes, a tray selecting means for selecting a paper tray containing paper of a size specified by a command from the host device, and a scaling ratio of image data to be drawn. in the image forming apparatus having the magnification designating means for designating the paper size for calculating the paper size after scaling by multiplying the magnification that is currently set to the size of the paper when equal times specified by said command A printer device comprising a calculation unit, wherein the tray selection unit selects a paper feed tray containing sheets of the paper size calculated by the paper size calculation unit. If the paper tray containing the paper of the paper size determined by the paper size calculation unit is not set, the printing is not rejected to the host device, and the data sent from the host device is processed and rendered as drawing data. When a paper tray having the paper size calculated by the paper size calculation means is newly mounted, the paper is fed from the newly mounted paper tray, and stored in the memory at this time. 2. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein the printer is configured to print the drawing data. After the drawing data is stored in the memory, if data that can be printed in the paper size of the currently mounted paper feed tray is sent from the host device, the printable data is stored before the data stored in the memory. 3. The printer according to claim 2, wherein the printer is configured to perform printing.

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